How to Open a Garage Door After a Power Outage

When the power goes out there are many things that homeowners have to think about. In many cases, the last thing anyone thinks about is how to get their garage door open. This is an important task to remember though because you may have to leave your home immediately. The best thing to do if you are in this situation is to stay calm and think. The last thing you want to do is damage your door trying to get your vehicle out.

Here are the steps to get your door opened without a problem:

Most garage doors that have electric openers come equipped with a special cord that can be used to disengage the door from the opener. It usually has a red handle on the end of it. Locate this cord first.

We suggest the door be in the down position to perform the next step. If the door is in the open position, take extreme caution. If the springs are not properly balancing the door, there is the potential for the door to drop. Pull down on the cord – this will release the door from the opener.

Once the garage door opener is disengaged, you should be able to freely open the door manually. If the door feels extremely heavy, inspect the springs. A common misconception is that the garage door openers lift the door, when in fact, the springs lift the door. If you find a broken spring, we highly suggest contacting a professional repair company for this issue.

The door is now usable without electricity.

Once the power comes back on, you will need to reengage the garage door opener. This time, instead of pulling the red cord downward, you will need to pull it either towards the door or away from the door depended on the opener model. Finally, you will need to open and close the opener one complete cycle all of the way up and all of the way down until the carriage catches and the door begins functioning electrically once again.

If there is not a cord present, call your local professional to come and install the cord for you. It is a good idea to have one placed on your opener before you actually need it.